Martial Law Questions

If Martial law is enacted, who is in charge on the local level? Is it the local or state police or does the national guard come in? I have a lot of
respect for these people but do they have the experience to handle this type of situation. The resulting confusion and panic would have the potential
to turn to total anarchy. Also who has the authority to call for martial law? Is it only the President or can the Senate authorize this?

In strict dictionary terms, martial law is the suspension of civil authority and the imposition of military authority, so yes that would include the
National guard as well as the Army etc.

While doing a search I found this neat little tidbit of info.

The Arming of Federal Bureaucrats

If you have any qualms about the use of military forces within the United States or in the event that necessary U.S. military forces are unavailable
or reluctant to participate, you enjoy other resources generally not available to your predecessors. Current estimates are that there are 80,000 armed
employees in the Executive Branch -- an increase of 20,000 over 1996!(102)

* designated employees of the Office of Export Enforcement of the Department of Commerce (50 U.S.C. App. 2411).

As highlighted above, several of these statutes not only authorize federal employees to carry firearms, but also extend this authority to federal
contractors and subcontractors. This elastic concept could be useful.

Again, however, there has been some effort to publicize this issue by politicians motivated by personal animus. For example, in 1997 Rep. Ron Paul
(R-TX) observed that:

Under the constitution, there was never meant to be a federal police force. Even an FBI limited only to investigations was not accepted until
this century. Yet today, fueled by the federal government's misdirected war on drugs, radical environmentalism, and the aggressive behavior of the
nanny state, we have witnessed the massive buildup of a virtual army of armed regulators prowling the States where they have no legal authority. The
sacrifice of individual responsibility and the concept of local government by the majority of American citizens has permitted the army of bureaucrats
to thrive.(103)

Of course, the loyalty of these dedicated public servants to the policies of your administration should make them a valuable resource, whatever the
future may hold.

This is why you can't trust the feds - ever notice how most of them don't even seem like the same species as us? Save that list, so you know who's
who when the time comes.

This is an excellent article outlining the plan that is already in place.

Under F.E.M.A., the Executive Orders which are already written and is the current law of the land, calls for the COMPLETE suspension of the United
States Constitution, all rights and liberties, as they are currently known. The following executive orders, which are in the Federal Register located
in Washington DC for anyone to request copies of, call for the suspension of all civil rights and liberties and for extraordinary measures to be taken
in, as most of the orders state, "any national security emergency situation that might confront the government." When F.E.M.A. is implemented, the
following executive orders will be immediately enforced:

Originally posted by Gools
This is an excellent article outlining the plan that is already in place.

Under F.E.M.A., the Executive Orders which are already written and is the current law of the land, calls for the COMPLETE suspension of the United
States Constitution, all rights and liberties, as they are currently known. The following executive orders, which are in the Federal Register located
in Washington DC for anyone to request copies of, call for the suspension of all civil rights and liberties and for extraordinary measures to be taken
in, as most of the orders state, "any national security emergency situation that might confront the government." When F.E.M.A. is implemented, the
following executive orders will be immediately enforced: www.posse-comitatus.org...

Through out United States history are several examples of the imposition of martial law, aside from that during the Civil War.

During the war of 1812, General Andrew Jackson imposed martial law within his encampment at New Orleans, which he had recently liberated. Martial law
was also imposed in a four mile radius around the camp. When word came of the end of the war, Jackson maintained martial law, contending that he had
not gotten official word of the peace. A judge demanded habeas corpus for a man arrested for sedition. Rather than comply with the writ, Jackson had
the judge arrested. After the civil authority was restored, the judge fined Jackson $1000, which he paid, and for which the Congress later reimbursed
Jackson.

In 1892, at Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, rebellious mine workers blew up a mill and shot at strike-breaking workers. The explosion leveled a four-story
building and killed one person. Mine owners asked the governor to declare martial law, which he did. At the same time, a request was made for federal
troops to back guardsmen. Over 600 people were arrested. The list was whittled down to two dozen ring leaders who were tried in civil court. While in
prison, the mine workers formed a new union, the Western Federation of Miners.

In 1914, imposition of martial law climaxed the so-called Coal Field Wars in Colorado. Dating back decades, the conflicts came to a head in Ludlow in
1913. The Colorado National Guard was called in to quell the strikers. For a time, the peace was kept, but it is reported that the make-up of the
Guard stationed at the mines began to shift from impartial normal troops to companies of loyal mine guards. Clashes increased and the proclamation of
martial law was made by the governor. President Wilson sent in federal troops, eventually ending the violence.

In 1934, California Governor Frank Merriam placed the docks of San Francisco under martial law, citing "riots and tumult" resulting from a dock
worker's strike. The Governor threatened to place the entire city under martial law. The National Guard was called in to open the docks, and a
city-wide institution of martial law was averted when goods began to flow. The guardsmen were empowered to make arrests and to then try detainees or
turn them over to the civil courts.

Martial law and San Francisco were no strangers - following the earthquake of 1906, the troops stationed in the Presidio were pressed into service.
Guards were posted throughout the city, and all dynamite was confiscated. The dynamite was used to destroy buildings in the path of fires, to prevent
the fires from spreading. Troops were ordered to shoot looters. Though there was never an official declaration of martial law, the event is often
cited as such. However, at all times it appears the troops took their orders indirectly from the civil authority.

Though not a state at the time, Hawaii was placed under martial law in 1941, following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Many of the residents of
Hawaii were, and are, of Asian descent, and the loyalty of these people was called into question. After the war, the federal judge for the islands
condemned the conduct of martial law, saying, "Gov. Poindexter declared lawfully martial law but the Army went beyond the governor and set up that
which was lawful only in conquered enemy territory namely, military government which is not bound by the Constitution. And they ... threw the
Constitution into the discard and set up a military dictatorship."

There have been many instances of the use of the military within the borders of the United States, such as during the Whiskey Rebellion and in the
South during the civil rights crises, but these acts are not tantamount to a declaration of martial law. The distinction must be made as clear as that
between martial law and military justice: deployment of troops does not necessarily mean that the civil courts cannot function, and that is one of the
keys, as the Supreme Court noted, to martial law.

Originally posted by Blue Diamond My question is what do we do in the case of martial law ? Is there anything we can do ? Or is that it they got us by the balls?

We do nothing. Under martial law, the state controls everything that moves, breathe and sh@t. In the case of martial law, do not speak out against the
government or do anything against the government. Police and Army will be given the power to "shoot to kill".

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